The jewish religion consists of many different life cycles, or life stages as well as a collection of important dates and holidays. The life stages start with birth and end with death as do many other religions. One thing that I found very interesting is that the male born babies are not given their names until their eighth day of life which is also the day that they have a circumcision. The name that a jewish male born child is given is often done so after a deceased relative. This would also explain why many jewish people have very common names. A mohel is the name of the person who performs the circumcision and this can either be a male or a female except in the Orthodox religion who will only allow males to perform this procedure. There is a celebration center around female born babies called a Brita that is a naming ceremony for the child. This usually takes place within the first month of the babies life. I think this would be so difficult what would you call the baby until the ceremony ? I think it would be difficult, but on the other hand it would give you a chance to get a good understanding of the child’s personality before you gave it a name.

The next major part of a male child’s life is the bar mitzvah which is the passage from childhood to adulthood. This stage takes place at thirteen years of age, this is the thing I was most familiar with regarding the jewish religion prior to reading this chapter in the book. You see this celebration take place all the time in movies and television shows that are depicting a jewish way of life. At this age the child is held responsible for their actions. It is much like how we are treated when we turn 18. The boy is now legally allowed to get married and also own their own property. There is a similar right of passage for the female child called a bat mitzvah. For females this takes place at the age of twelve with exception of the Orthodox which is age thirteen. At this age the female is also given the same privileges as the male when he turns thirteen which I thought was interesting since in most cultures the male is able to possess things before the male is.

The next stage of life is when one gets married. This is called a hatoona. This is another thing that I am used to seeing in the movies. There a special traditions that take place at a jewish wedding including the act of smashing a glass at which time the wedding guests shout Mazel Tov which means good luck. There are also acts to symbolize unity such as the guests and the bride and groom to dance and be carried on chairs or to form a bond with a holding on to napkins hand to hand to form a circle.

The last stage of life is know as the Shiva which is